STORRS - Two-time All-American and 1995 National Player of the Year Rebecca Lobo will be honored in a pregame ceremony prior to the UConn women’s basketball team’s 2017-18 home opener against No. 20 California on Friday at Gampel Pavilion. The #LoboNight ceremony is scheduled to begin promptly at 7 p.m.

On Sept. 8, 2017, Lobo became the first UConn women’s basketball alum to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and a banner commemorating that moment will be unveiled pregame Friday.

The banner will be on display next to head coach Geno Auriemma’s Hall of Fame banner in the south end of Gampel Pavilion. Auriemma was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2006.

Fans will have the opportunity to pick up a commemorative poster of Lobo’s new banner at all three entrances to Gampel Pavilion. Posters will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Fans can also stop by section 221 to write a message on a special banner that will be given to Lobo after the game. The banner will be available for signing from 5:30 to 6:40 p.m. In addition, the 1995 national championship trophy will be on display pregame.

A two-time Kodak First Team All-American, Lobo helped Team USA win gold in the 1996 Olympic Games and was the unanimous choice for National Player of the Year following the 1994-95 season. The Southwick, Mass., native was a two-time GTE/CoSida Academic All-American and a two-time Big East Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

She was inducted into the CoSida Academic All-America Hall of Fame in 2008 and has served on the University of Connecticut’s Board of Trustees since 2004.

Lobo, the 1995 NCAA Woman of the Year, currently serves as a commentator for ESPN’s women’s basketball programming.

Five named to Wooden Award Preseason Top-30

Five UConn standouts have earned a spot on the John R. Wooden Award Preseason Top-30, as announced by the Los Angeles Athletic Club on Tuesday. Napheesa Collier, Kia Nurse, Katie Lou Samuelson, Azurá Stevens and Gabby Williams were all included on the list.

Seven other schools have multiple selections to the list but no other institution has more than two players included on the list of 30.

The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2018 John R. Wooden Award Women’s Player of the Year.

Samuelson on Ann Meyers Drysdale watch list

Samuelson was also named to the inaugural 2018 Ann Meyers Drysdale watch list, as announced by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Tuesday afternoon.

The award is named after Ann Meyers, the first male or female to make the All-America team in four-straight seasons, and recognizes the top shooting guard in women’s NCAA Division I college basketball.

Samuelson, the 2016-17 American Co-Player of the Year, finished her sophomore campaign averaging 20.2 points per game, second to only Collier. Samuelson’s 119 made three-point field goals marks the second-highest single-season total in UConn history.